Character Analysis
The person that I have chosen from the film that works in the criminal justice system is Mark Ciavarella. Ciavarella was a former president judge of the Luzerne County court system in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. This former judge was involved in a “Kids for cash’ scandal in 2008, along with Michael Conahan who was was also a former judge in the Luzerne County, Pennsylvania court. These two judges accepted money from Robert Mercile and Robert Powell, who owned two for-profit detention centers. As Merciles detention centers grew, so did Ciavarella and Conahan money. Ciavarella earned 1,000,000 dollars in this bribery scandal which all came from 4,000 juvenile offenders from 2003 to 2008. Ciavarella was found guilty of
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12 out o the 39 charges that were sent against him. This certain individual is presented in negative way.
On August 2011, Ciavarella was sentenced in federal prison for 28 years for his act in the Kids for Cash Scandal. These two judges did the kids for cash scandal. This had all started out when the Pennsylvania county began complaining that their children are getting extremely harsh punishments which they were put into for-profit center without a lawyer to help them out. These children were brought in front of judge Ciavarella and did not get a chance for a defensive side, which they were pounced, guilty on the spot. Some of these kids spend months, even years, in these detention centers. It did not matter what the child did, they were put into these for-profit detention centers, which the two judges made a lot of money from it. This is someone that should be despaired even though he pleaded guilty on February 13, 2009. Ciavarella would put these children into these horrible detention centers for almost anything. Some of the “crimes” that these kids did was buying a stolen scooter, which the boy and his parents did not know it was stolen or one young girl punched antoher young girl which was her first time ever getting into trouble. Some of the extremely harsh ones were for mocking people such as a principal or a teacher on social media, trespassing without knowing it, and shoplifting. Lastly, some of these kids committed suicide after serving their time in the kids for cash
crime. Mark Ciavarella job description in the film did not fill the actual deception of a judge. Ciavarella went against all the legal rights; especially earning illegal money and making kids suffer which are impacted to it even today as the film showed. A judge plays many roles in the criminal justice system. A judge” interprets the law, Asses evidence presented, and control how hearings and trials unfold in their courtrooms. Most important of all, judges are impartial decision makers in the pursuit of justice” (CSCJA, 2006) This is where Ciavarella lacked his “judge” role. He did not let any parent and kids speak up about what had happened. A normal judge will let the person tell their story and the other person’s story before making the decision. The only good part this judge did was pleading guilty to his cruel act. The film is based on a true story. Mark Ciavarella is serving his 28-year sentence in a federal prison. Ciavarella was 61 when he got his 28year sentence in the federal prison. Dave Janoski explained in his article how Mark Ciavarella had been moved to a federal prison in Illinois “ to serve a racketeering sentence that could keep him behind bars until 2035”(2011). Ciavarella did appeal in his conviction in the U.S Third Circuit court of appeals. December 30, 2035 is the time that he may be out of prison. System Analysis There were a couple of criminal justice agencies that were addressed by the film. First off, there were the two judges, Ciavarella and Conahan. They worked for the Luzerne County Court of common Please in Wilkes-Barre. Also, other agencies that were listed in the film were the juvenile law center, which filed the lawsuit against these two judges for their illegal acts. The Pennsylvania Supreme court asked to have an investigation of the cases that were done by the judges. All of these agencies worked as one in group with investigating who’s started this whole kids for cash scandal and who deserves what punishment and what kind. The relationship that the criminal justice system and the issues addressed were how they all worked there way with these judges and the two owners of the crucial juvenile detention centers. The criminal justice worked with these issues starting early in 2007 where they investigate the Luzerne County person. Many lawyers jumped into this case and fought for many of the kids that served timed in these juvenile detention centers. The film stated for the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation an the Internal revenue Service were also involved with these issues by investigating deeply into this case, looking at each of the punishments these children received and see what Judge Ciavarella reason was to do so. The criminal justice system is portrayed in both good and a bad way. The good way is that these judges and the people involved in these scandals received the punishments that they were supposing to. The bad part about the criminal justice system in this situation is how long it took for the criminal justice system to catch on what was going on and how judge Ciavarella and Conahan were performing illegal sentences to children. If I were a Criminal Justice administrator I would use this film to show what kind of illegal acts some of the judges do. It is clear that not all judges do this, but these kinds of situations happen in life. Some people like the money they are receiving for illegal decision. What they do not realize is the time and pain that they are causing a bunch of children and families. I would also make sure children and even adults know what they have to say when they get caught doing something they were not suppose to. Not all acts are as bad as Ciavarella made it seem. Caviarella took advantage of the court system, which he did earn a lot of money but at the end he got 28 years in prison so it was not worth it whatsoever. What I chose to explore further from the film is the children and their families and how they are impacted today after judge Ciavarella was sent to prison. I want to see what the families and children are saying now after some of these children served long sentences in these money-profit juvenile detention centers. I am sure the children have a lot to say especially the ones that have posttraumatic disorder and even worse sicknesses. Lindsey Davis, Frank Mastropolo, and Lauren Sher gave an excellent example of one mother and how the family is impacted by the “kids for cash” scandal. One the facts that Davis gave out in her article are how a mother went up to judge Ciavarella and asked if she remembers him. Edward Kenzakoski, son of Sandy Fonzo, killed himself years later after being let out from the juvenile detention center. The mother said, “Do you remember me? Do you remember me? Do you remember my son? He was an all-star wrestler and he’s gone” (2011). This is what the mother said to Ciavarella when he was leaving the courthouse. There are no families that will ever forgive this man and will never get rid of the anger and sadness that this man gave to their families. Another article by Jon Schuppe mentioned how “the victims and their families have also won millions in judgments from Mercila and Powell’s companies” (2015). The judges earned their money but in an illegal way. The victims families earned money but for a right reason. A lot of families were not all that interested in the money but were glad to use some of the money to make their children’s lives better. A lot of these children were left anxiety problems, frustration, and depression problems. The families were furious that these detention centers did this to their children. The two sources that I provided are consistent to the film. Even though the film did show how some of the kids felt about their sentences, I got to extend that information with how a mother felt about her son. The other source mentioned how families received money from these illegal acts done by the judges and the two owners of the juvenile detention centers. These insights showed how the mother really felt about judge Ciavarella. The article explained the anger the woman had and how hurt she was because her son hung himself cause of him. Based on all the information that I reviewed, I would try to improve this situation by making sure people have basic knowledge when they do get in trouble. I want people to have the basic knowledge of knowing they are allowed to say they are not guilty and are allowed to have a lawyer with them to define them. The criminal justice system should Davis, L., Mastropolo, F., & Sher, L. (2011, February 11). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://abcnews.go.com/US/mark-ciavarella-pa-juvenile-court-judge-convicted-alleged/story? Id=12965182 Janoski, D. (2011, September 13). Ciavarella moved to federal prison in Illinois. Retrieved December 1, 2015, from http://citizensvoice.com/ciavarella-moved-to-federal-prison-in-illinois-1.1202358 Schuppe, J. (2015, August 12). Pennsylvania Seeks to Close Books on "Kids for Cash" Scandal. Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pennsylvania-seeks-close-books-kids-cash-scandal-n408666 The Role of the Judge. (2006). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.cscja-acjcs.ca/role_of_judge-en.asp? L=5
Most of these defendants couldn’t afford private attorneys and depended upon public defenders. For instance, Joe Moore had two prior convictions and was facing a maximum of a 90 year sentence for selling three grams of cocaine. However, Moore begged his public defender to call Eliga Kelly to stand in his defense. Moore claimed that Kelly witnessed him shoe Coleman off of his property. For whatever reasons, his public defender never bothered to call Kelly to the stand or even question him privately. After all, Eliga Kelly was considered a star witness for the prosecution, but, as a result of that negligence, Moore was sentenced to 90 years. Unlike most criminal informants, Eliga Kelly refused to lie under oath and in a subsequent trial for a different defendant, the prosecutor called Kelly to the stand. Kelly contradicted Coleman’s testimony by naming several defendants, including Joe Moore, who refused to sell drugs to
When trying to describe Dan Locallo as a compassionate judge one could use the Tony Cameron, the Larry Bates and the Frank Caruso Jr. criminal cases. Tony Cameron has been in jail for only five months. He was arrested for armed robbery in August of 1997. Cameron has an inner conflict that he keeps fighting-whether or not he wants to plead guilty or not guilty (Courtroom 302, 26). Tony Cameron realizes that if he wants to present his case to the judge he better make it a good one. Most offenders that visit the courthouse feel like...
Sandra Petrocelli is the prosecuting lawyer and is good. She is pushing for the death penalty. She states that everyone involved in the crime is equally guilty including the one who wrestled for the gun, the robber and the two lookouts. She is trying to prove that Steve knew and associated with the two robbers who are bad characters.
“Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it’s set a rolling it must increase (Charles Caleb Colton).” Colton describes that once corruption has begun, it is difficult to stop. Corruption has existed in this country, let alone this very planet, since the beginning of time. With corruption involves: money, power, and favoritism. Many people argue today that racism is still a major problem to overcome in today’s legal system. American author (and local Chicago resident) Steve Bogira jumps into the center of the United States justice system and tells the story of what happens in a typical year for the Cook Country Criminal Courthouse, which has been noted as one of the most hectic and busiest felony courthouses in the entire country. After getting permission from one of the courthouse judges’ (Judge Locallo) he was allowed to venture in and get eyewitness accounts of what the American Legal System is and how it operates. Not only did he get access to the courtroom but: Locallo’s chambers, staff, even his own home. In this book we get to read first hand account of how America handles issues like: how money and power play in the court, the favoritism towards certain ethnic groups, and the façade that has to be put on by both the defendants and Cook County Workers,
exposes many of the problems that face the Criminal Justice system, as well as reveals several
Garinger Gail “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” The New York Times, 14 March 2012. The New York Times 7 May 2014.
The Golding States school has a rigorous program where repeated offenders who are facing 25 to life sentences. These youths have committed horrendous crimes and have been labeled as lost cost by
He believes that a kid from a place like that isn’t any good. The next character is Edward James Olmos (#11) for the first half of the movie he was very quiet and walked around, but once he changed his vote to not guilty he became very kind and helpful. Something he said when he was standing up for the kid was, “ to say one is capable of committing murder
When it comes to minors, we try to keep a balance between our logistic and moral views on the issue of their imprisonment. Usually, we end up thinking morally, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Children raised in harsh conditions or without adequate parenting could stay bad forever, or grow up to become a great person. A huge slip up shouldn’t take their life. We could think that the children could stay bad forever and become an even bigger problem later in life, but prison time works well to deter against that. The supreme court was right. It’s completely wrong to sentence a minor to
...s A. Preciado, but despite these wrong decisions being made by juveniles, they deserve a second chance to better themselves as potential future citizens. Even Gail garinger who was a former juvenile judge believes that they are capable such manner, In her article, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” written March 14, 2012 and published by New York Times, it states that “as a former juvenile court judge, I have seen firsthand the enormous capacity of children to change and turn themselves around. The same malleability that makes them vulnerable to peer pressure also makes them promising candidates for rehabilitation”. I believe, and still do, that even though juveniles that have taken a wrong path, regardless of what they 've done, need guidance from us and people who were once juveniles to mentor them and be given a second chance, just as I did a long time ago.
The people directly involved with this case are Judge Lance Ito, the prosecution lawyers, Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden, the defense lawyers, Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro and Robert Blasier , the jury and the defendant, O.J. Simpson. The families of the victims have also been present in the courtroom, as well as other spectators and news media. This case has heard one hundred and twenty witnesses over a nine month period.
It is also all part of the economic and social scene of the correctional facility (jail) system, where it forms a great part of the management of the jail. It helps to keep the harsh rules the warden and guards apply to the inmates in place. Systemic corruption is not a special type of corrupt practice, but rather a situation in which this jail and process of rehabilitation of the prisoners is routinely dominated and used by the corrupt warden and the guards. The prisoners have no alternatives to dealing with the corrupt jail staff. Letters are censored of not delivered, visits are controlled and when a prisoner is a threat, the warden and guards get rid of them. Tommy Williams who could have given the warden information to prove that Andy Dufresne was actually innocent, was removed by the Warden when he had Captain Hadley shoot him while he tried to escape. This was a false claim but no-one could prove it. In the end the warden is caught out when Andy gives all the evidence he collected during the years in jail against the Warden to a newspaper for publication. The warden takes his own life and in a sense it is retribution for all the terrible things he did against the prisoners and the
... believed in the innocence of the young man and convinced the others to view the evidence and examine the true events that occurred. He struggled with the other jurors because he became the deviant one in the group, not willing to follow along with the rest. His reasoning and his need to examine things prevailed because one by one, the jurors started to see his perspective and they voted not guilty. Some jurors were not convinced, no matter how much evidence was there, especially Juror #3. His issues with his son affected his decision-making but in the end, he only examined the evidence and concluded that the young man was not guilty.
In the film 12 Angry Men, a group of twelve jurors are deciding the fate of a young boy accused of murdering his father. Throughout the juries dilleration, one man exhibits all of the qualities of leadership. This man is juror number 8 played by Henry Fonda. Fonda not only exhibits the the 10 qualities of a leader but he uses these qualities to lead the entire jury to a vote of not guilty (Fonda & Lumet, 1957).
There prison population is overpopulated with people just like these. The people in these cases needed help, whether it be employment opportunities, rehabilitation, an alternative to prison, or even a lesser sentence. We have learned that throwing everyone who has a problem in prison and letting them rot behind bars is not the answer. We have only created another problem that our prisons have become overcrowded, and when these offenders finally come out of prison they have a high risk to go right back in. We have to put funding back into communities, society needs to stop spending so much money on sending people to prison, and spend more money trying to keep them out. Society has to put funding back into creating employment opportunities, affordable rehab, and focus on low income communities who need the most help. We need to leave the violent offenders that we are afraid of for prison, and for the people that really need help we can 't put them in jail. Mandatory Minimum sentences are not the answer, this bill needs to be reformed. We have learned that our prisons are filled with people just like Angelos, Echols, and Lockwood who didn’t deserve such harsh sentences and would have benefitted from a judge 's discretion. These people lives would not have been ruined by these sentences if they had better